9 A Shadow of Doubt (Part III)

Onto the shuttle she goes, riding through the streets of Sicily and heading to the hotel. The car ride is smooth as she gets to look out the window to be graced by the beauty of the luscious landscape and its landmarks. The places she had hoped to see with Nathan, the places she had hoped would be the pinnacle of their honeymoon, the music to their sweet memories. But it wasn't to be.

She thinks about what detective Bianchi told her. What causes her mind to whirlwind is the footage. How could a segment of the footage be missing? A recent memory rushes to mind as she suddenly remembers that earlier, she asked Maria about who handles the footage for which she answered Luigi. Could Luigi be involved or is an outside person the perpetrator? However, still, nothing makes sense. Could detective Bianchi be inexperienced and Detective Russo be right? Could she be a newbie to the point that she could make errors in judgment?

Cathy arrives at the hotel and makes it to her room. She lies down for a few hours. She opens the curtains to look at the view. It is evening in Sicily. She then decides to call her mother. Just as she's about to head over to the phone, she notices a folded piece of paper under her bed. It must have come with the contents of the manila envelope, she thinks. She opens the folded piece of paper to find that it is compounded with a slit that carries something inside which acts as a pouch. She reads what it says:

'I know this isn't fair on you Cathy, so I have decided to give you three hundred thousand dollars so that you could start a new life and move on. I know it's not much but it will help you get out of Italy as well'

In shock, she looks around her hotel room as she suddenly remembers that earlier on, she had stuffed all the contents of the manila envelope in the envelope and even looked under the bed to find none. She opens the paper slit to find a gold credit card with her name on it. Cathy is overwhelmed by confusion as she can't breathe. It is as if the air around her is being swallowed by two opposing giants - again, what's right in front of her and what she feels. She tries to remember whether she did look under the bed or whether she might be mistaken and this note was a part of the contents she missed. Could there be someone that had been sneaking into her hotel room while she was gone or could she be going crazy?

Air slowly escapes her lungs as her throat closes up. Quickly, she escapes her hotel room and hurries into the corridor. She needs some fresh air. She wants to go to the fountain but it's far. She feels her lungs flatten as they crave fresher air. She goes up the stairs to the rooftop instead.

Once on the rooftop, she gasps for air while clutching onto her stomach with her body bent and facing downwards. Her lungs slowly inflate with all the fresher air around her. She brings herself to an upright position and then leans forward against the balcony of the hotel. Looking down, she wishes she could jump. Maybe it would make all the pain go away. All the anxiety, despair, the confusion, gone.

Suddenly, she hears the echoes of voices from a distance.

Cathy realizes that these echoes must come from the swimming pool which is on the other side of the wall that she's on. Something draws her closer to the echoes as she takes one foot closer. She knows it's none of her business but she moves closer anyway as the echoes become audible.

"Hai quello che ti ho detto con il filmato?" a croaky male voice asks. For Cathy, this voice breeds some familiarity but she cannot make out who she has heard it from. She knows she has heard it from someone here in Sicily and she can make out a little bit of what the man is asking. He appears to be asking about some footage and the work being done on it.

"Sì, e ho piantato un altro biglietto per far sparire quella cagna" answers the man with a deep voice. A bolt of shock raptures through her mind as she realizes that they are talking about her. The man with a deep voice is talking about a note he planted in someone's hotel room for that woman to leave Italy.

"Beh, se hai lavorato bene con il filmato, perché quella puttana è venuta nel mio ufficio oggi?" commands the croaky male voice as it spikes in anger.

She cannot make out what he's saying and It agitates Cathy that she recognizes this voice but cannot remember whose it is. Cathy peaks over the wall and with one glance at the two figures sitting side by side, suddenly, the voice has a face. It is Detective Russo from the Investigative unit she went to earlier today. He is sitting beside another older man. Cathy peaks over the wall again to make out the face of the older man. Involuntarily, she lets out a loud gasp as she comes to terms with who it is. It is the man with the dragon tattoo. Aroused by the loud gasp, he looks around, trying to see if there's anyone around. Quickly, Cathy tries to turn her head away only to catch his sinister glare as the two men charge in hot pursuit of her.